Louis Sullivan :: essays papers

Louis SullivanLouis Sullivan was without a doubt one of the to the highest degree influential figures in American architecture. He can be ascribe with lying the foundation of todays modern skyscrapers. In addition, he has produced some of the most magnificent ornaments seen in 19th and 20th century, which decorated his buildings.On September 3, 1856, Louis Henri Sullivan was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His came from an Irish father and a French mother. Louis led a sheltered childhood as resolving power of the civil war, and spent a good deal of time on his grandparents farm outside of the city. It is here that Sullivan developed an intense concept of nature, which would be apparent in his later work. By the age of twelve, Louis decided to come after a career in architecture. Moses Wilson, one of Sullivans high schooltime teachers, introduced him to the disciplines of silence, attention, and alertness, which are necessary components of the abilities to observe, reflec t, and discriminate. These would serve to help him in his career pursuits. Asa Gray, a botanist from Harvard who lectured at his school, caught his interest in the morphology of plants. At the age of sixteen, he was admitted two years early to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.Sullivans first employment came as a draughtsman for the architectural blind drunk Furness and Hewitt in Philadelphia, which he felt was best suited to his tastes. An economic holy terror resulted in his layoff from the firm and his relocation to Chicago. It was here that he went to work for major William LeBaron Jenney. It was not long before Louis had acquainted himself with numerous other architects in the city the most important of whom would turn out to be lav Edelman.The summer of 1874 had Sullivan traveling overseas to the Ecole des Beaur Arts in Paris. aft(prenominal) passing rigorous admissions tests, he studied geometric form from Monsieur Clopet. Next, Louis toured Italy to co nceive its fine works of art.Sullivan returned to Chicago in 1875, where he worked several draftsman positions over the next five years. After this period, John Edelman introduced him to Dankmar Adler. The two create a partnership in 1881 that would last fourteen years. Sullivan handled the design of their architecture, charm Adler oversaw the engineering and acoustic areas of the firm. Louis had two main protegees over the course of his career.